Kansas City Mayor Sly James’ office has signed resignations from all of his appointees to the Tax Increment Financing Commission of Kansas City — signed, but with the effective date left blank.

The same holds true for the mayor’s appointees to the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority, Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority, Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners and other boards and commissions under the city’s purview.

Letters obtained by the Kansas City Business Journal through an open records request carry similar language: “Dear Mayor James, I hereby resign my position as a member of the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority. I understand that my resignation will only become effective upon acceptance by you, and until that time, I will continue to serve in my position to the best of my abilities.”

Although asking a previous administration’s appointees to resign when a new administration enters office is a common practice, having appointees pre-sign resignation letters appears to break new ground in local politics.

Sources familiar with the inner workings of the Kay Barnes and Mark Funkhouser administrations said their appointees were not asked to pre-sign resignation letters.

Rich Chrismer, a staffer in former Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt’s administration, said the practice was not carried out at the state level, either.

James said the letters were requested with the intention of cleaning up longstanding disorganization on city boards and commissions.

When he came to office, he said he found board and commission members who were not sure how long they had served or whether their terms were up.

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